Convicted pimp Misty Dawn Harris sentenced to 12 years in state prison

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AURORA, Colo. - An Aurora woman will spend 12 years in state prison for pimping and assaulting an 18-year-old woman.

Misty Dawn Harris, 35, was sentenced to six years for pimping the woman and another six years for second-degree assault. Both are felonies.

Harris was convicted of working with two others to hold the victim against her will, said 17th Judicial District spokeswoman Sue Lindsay. The victim was beaten and forced into prostitution over a three-week period in January 2011.

"The victim was dehumanized, tortured and basically made into a slave," Chief Deputy District Attorney Patrick Costigan said in a quotation provided by Lindsay.

Lindsay also reported that Adams County District Judge Jill Ellyn Straus said the case "is one of the most disturbing that I have dealt with in three decades because it was so incredibly cruel."

Brandon Brown pleaded guilty to felony menacing for his role in the case and was sentenced to five years. Whitney Buckman pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and was sentenced to two years.

A jury in Adams County convicted Harris in February.

Copyright 2014 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.